First and foremost, I am excited to have finally make an account here. I am on THR and some archery sites, I just never got around to being here on SS which is a great forum. I was a "read only" member for a long time.

Now thats out of the way...moving on. I have a savage M11 .308 I am finally turning into a much more beastly machine than it is now. Its currently got the accutrigger, reciever, and bolt. Other than that, everything is getting changed. I am planning on a PTG or CDI DBM with 5 rnd AICS mags. I dont need 10 round mags unless I am running deer on our farm. Even then, its rare I shoot that much that quickly. Last time was probably 6-7 years ago, and thats because I kept missing!

Anyways, to go with the DBM and barrel, I plan on a boyd stock that I will modify heavily in stiffening the fore end, adding pillars, and glass bedding the action and lug. Also will free float the barrel and add adjustable comb. I like to be involved in my projects. I have a Vortex Viper PST 4-16x50 Mrad located for 850$ from my local dealer. I found used cheaper, but I dont trust ebay most of the time and it wasn't Mrad. Ill top the gun off with this and a steel 20 moa base and good rings.

However, I am having trouble deciding on a barrel. I have two options right now 1) Criterion and 2) Shilen. I am leaning towards Shilen because of reputability, but after chosing barrel make, I still have to chose length and contour. Jim Briggs only carries the 28 inch bull barrel right now and that is just too long for me. I think 26 is a good number for long range, but I have no expirence in the matter. I am a "book" gun smith in most areas like that. Contour is worrying me to. At 26 inches, shilen varmit barrels are recessed crowned and .8 inches at the muzzle, while bulls are 11 degree crowned and 1 inch at muzzle. Seems to me that shilen doesn't expect anybody but target shooters to buy the bull barrel...So my question is what do you all suggest for long range accuracy (+800 yards) on paper, but not completely cumbersome for shorter ranges at deer. I dont mind a heavy rifle, but I hesitate to stick that much stress on the action. Coupled with the fact that my deer hunting can often be very long. I have over a 1000 acres to walk or sit so anything over 20 pounds with sling, bipod, and everything attached is going to be a little too much. Im young, but not quite that ambitious. Until I decide if I will enlist for sure or not, Im not worried about if I can carry a 20+ lb tactical rifle. Maybe its not possible and I am being naive about weights, but if it is over 20 lbs, oh well. If it makes a difference, I wont be shooting large volumes of ammo at any one point in time like competitions may require. Im open to any suggestions!

If I am in the wrong forum, please move me! :) I often end up in the wrong forums until I get use to the set up. My apologies in advance.